The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today’s episode.

On Tuesday, Israel targeted leaders from the Hamas terror group gathering in Qatar who were reportedly there to discuss a new ceasefire proposal put forward by Trump’s administration. Yesterday, Netanyahu appeared to acknowledge that the missile strike had failed to kill the targeted leaders. Fabian brings us new information on how the strike was carried out.

Following an evacuation warning, the IDF says it struck a high-rise tower in Gaza City that was being used by Hamas. Just after recording time, two more 10- to 15-story buildings were demolished, in each case after civilians were warned by the IDF to evacuate. We learn about why the IDF is targeting these buildings and how they are taken down.

A drone launched by the Houthis in Yemen was intercepted by Israeli air defenses near Ramon Airport in southern Israel this morning. Last week, a drone launched by Yemen’s Houthis evaded air defenses and smashed into the Ramon Airport terminal. Fabian speaks about the Houthis’ new targeting tactic and its results so far.

Israeli soldiers raided the home of Palestinian activist and Oscar-winning director Basel Adra in the southern West Bank yesterday after two Israelis were injured by stone throwing in the area, according to the military. Adra told The Associated Press that before the army raid, Israeli settlers had attacked his village of at-Tuwani, injuring two of his brothers and one cousin. Fabian discusses how these “he said-he said” attacks are all too common.

To close the program, we turn to last week’s violent terror attacks in Jerusalem and Kibbutz Tzuba. Fabian explains how intensive IDF efforts in the West Bank have brought attacks of this nature to almost zero — but that there is a steep price to be paid.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

IDF says 280,000 Gaza City residents have left; high-rise said used by Hamas hit in strike

IDF downs Yemen missile aimed at Tel Aviv; Houthis claim it had cluster bomb warhead

West Bank home of Basel Adra, activist and Oscar-winning director, raided by IDF

IDF seals homes of Palestinian terrorists behind deadly Jerusalem shooting

Two wounded, one seriously, in terror stabbing at hotel west of Jerusalem

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.

IMAGE: IDF strikes leveling mid-rise buildings in Gaza City on September 10, 2025. (Screencapture/STRINGER/AFPTV/AFP)

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Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur.

There are still lots of questions and not a lot of answers after a bold Israeli airstrike targeted a meeting of Hamas’s top leaders in Qatar’s capital, Doha, on Tuesday. According to some reports, the leadership had gathered to discuss a new US-sponsored hostage-ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the war in Gaza. At publication, reports still differ as to whether the attack was successful.

And just before recording on Wednesday, the IDF confirmed it had carried out strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, saying it struck military camps where operatives were gathered, the headquarters of the terror group’s propaganda division, and a fuel depot, in both Sanaa and in the al-Jawf area north of the capital.

Borschel-Dan asks Rettig Gur: Is Israel acting like an unpredictable "Middle Easterner" to restore deterrence on all fronts?

In a quick-take conversation, we hear why Rettig Gur doesn't put much weight into diplomatic theatrics as Israel fights its existential war against the Hamas terror group that launched the war on October 7, 2023.

We ask: What does it mean to fail in a daring op? Has Israel burned all of its allies' goodwill?

And so this week, we ask Haviv Rettig Gur, what matters now?

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

Illustrative image: The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Astana, Kazakhstan, October 13, 2022. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

It’s September 15, 2020, and on the South Lawn of the White House, a group of leaders from the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain assembled to mark a once-unlikely normalization agreement.

Berman talks us through why these countries were originally included in the accords and which were on deck before the Hamas massacre of 1,200 on October 7, 2023, that launched the Gaza War.

We hear what gains were made through these accords -- and what setbacks there have been since the Gaza War erupted.

We also discuss how Israel’s recent attempted assassination of the Hamas leadership this week in Qatar may affect relations with Gulf States moving forward.

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, US President Donald Trump, Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan pose for a photo on the Blue Room Balcony after signing the Abraham Accords at the White House in Washington, September 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Was the United States aware of Israel's plans to conduct an Israeli airstrike targeting a meeting of Hamas’s top leaders in Qatar’s capital, Doha, on Tuesday? According to some reports, the leadership had gathered to discuss a new US-sponsored hostage-ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the war in Gaza. At recording time, reports still differ as to whether the attack was successful. Horovitz untangles what the US may have known of the attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back on Wednesday against mounting international criticism over Israel’s strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar the previous day. Can the furious Qataris and other Gulf States be assured that Israel will not repeat such an attack if the opportunity presents itself?

President Isaac Herzog sat down on Wednesday in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for what local media described as a tense meeting. Horovitz delves into how Starmer, in the current anti-Israel climate, was asked to defend himself for meeting with the Israeli president. We also hear what message Herzog attempted to convey.

The Munich Philharmonic, led by its future chief conductor, Israeli musician Lahav Shani, was disinvited from a performance on September 18 at the Flanders Festival Ghent, because Shani -- the current conductor of the Israel Philharmonic -- has not clearly disavowed the Israeli government. “We have chosen to refrain from collaboration with partners who have not distanced themselves unequivocally from that regime,” the organizers said in a statement. We discuss this incident, which occurred even as the Toronto International Film Festival screened a previously canceled documentary, “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,” which charts how retired Israeli general Noam Tibon saved his family and others during the 2023 Hamas attack.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

PM, ministers mourn ‘lion-hearted’ Charlie Kirk; some warn of copycat killings in Israel

Netanyahu tells Qatar to expel Hamas chiefs or bring them to justice: ‘If you don’t, we will’

Netanyahu takes a calculated risk on a legitimate target in a deeply problematic location

Amid strained UK-Israel ties, Herzog holds ‘tough’ meeting with Starmer in London

Belgian festival scraps performance by Munich Philharmonic over Israeli conductor

Israeli film on Oct. 7 premieres at Toronto film festival after initially being dropped

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.

Illustrative image: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu answers a question, as US President Donald Trump looks on, during a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House on July 7, 2025. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images via AFP)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian and diplomatic reporter Nava Freiberg join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Israeli officials quoted anonymously in several Hebrew-language news sites appear to cast increasing doubt on the success of a strike in Qatar targeting the leaders of the Hamas terror group’s politburo yesterday. According to some reports, the leadership had gathered in Doha to discuss a new US-sponsored hostage-ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the war in Gaza. At recording time, reports differ as to whether the attack was successful. Fabian takes us through the strike and we learn about Qatar's military prowess.

Defense Minister Israel Katz appeared to reject criticism of the decision to go after Hamas figures in US-allied Qatar, reiterating Israel's stance that the Jewish state will not allow the group to find safe haven anywhere. At the same time, the UN Security Council will meet this afternoon to discuss the attack, among a ripple effect of condemnations from across the globe. Freiberg fills us in on US President Donald Trump's reaction, as well as the statements we're hearing from Gulf states and the greater globe.

Fabian updates us on what is happening on the ground in Gaza as around 150,000 Palestinians are estimated by the military to have evacuated from Gaza City, including tens of thousands in the past day.

And finally, we speak about freed Israeli-Russian hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov, who is expected to be flown to Israel today and will undergo the same process as hostages freed or rescued from Hamas captivity in Gaza, after she was released to the US embassy in Baghdad yesterday. Fabian reminds us of who Tsurkov is and the events of her capture in March 2023.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Israeli officials said to doubt success of strike on Hamas leaders in Doha

Israel strikes Hamas Qatar-based leadership, awaits result; Hamas claims attack failed

Trump pans Israel for striking in Doha but says ‘eliminating Hamas’ is a ‘worthy goal’

Israeli-Russian graduate student Elizabeth Tsurkov freed from captivity in Iraq

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.

IMAGE: Damage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas' political leadership in Doha, Qatar, September 10, 2025. (AP/Jon Gambrell)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Following yesterday morning's Hamas attack on an IDF camp near Gaza City that killed four soldiers, Fabian describes the attack at the entrance to the encampment, in which an explosive device was hurled into a tank that caught fire, killing all members of the team.

The IDF has been carrying out strikes on high-rise towers in Gaza City, on buildings of 10 to 14 floors, which Israel says are being used by Hamas for surveillance in preparation of the army's planned offensive in Gaza City, says Fabian.

The army has begun telling Gazans to evacuate Gaza City ahead of the upcoming IDF ground offensive, discusses Fabian, which he doesn't believe will begin until more Palestinians have left the area.

Following Monday's deadly terror attack at the Ramot junction in Jerusalem, the IDF began operating in the two villages where the two terrorists came from, on the outskirts of Ramallah. In addition to possible plans to demolish the terrorists' families' homes, there are civil sanctions against the relatives of the attackers, and residents of their hometowns, a kind of collective punishment, discusses Fabian.

Fabian also talks about IDF airstrikes on Monday against military compounds belonging to Hezbollah's Radwan force, and IDF strikes in Syria. Fabian notes that Israel has not yet commented on the reason for the Syrian strikes.

The Houthis launched drones at Israel on Monday, and all three were shot down, reports Fabian, including one near the Ramon Airport and one near the southern city of Dimona. Fabian says that the Houthis have launched more than 150 drones since the beginning of the war and 98% of them have been shot down.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Four soldiers killed in Hamas attack on army camp near Gaza City, IDF says

Air Force levels Gaza buildings after Katz vows ‘hurricane in skies of Gaza City’

Six killed, 6 seriously injured in Jerusalem as terrorists open fire on bus, pedestrians

Katz orders crackdown on work permits for those living in same town as Jerusalem attackers

At least five said killed as Israel hits Hezbollah sites in northeast Lebanon

IDF intercepts 3 Houthi drones launched at south, day after attack on Ramon Airport

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.

IMAGE: IDF surveyors take measurements at the homes of the two Palestinian terrorists who carried out a deadly shooting attack in Jerusalem on September 8, 2025 to prepare their potential demolition (IDF Spokesperson)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

US President Donald Trump is more optimistic about a hostage deal that will offer the immediate release of all living hostages, says Magid, discussing the President's Sunday tweet. He discusses the current plan offered by Trump and US special envoy Steve Witkoff, passed through unofficial Trump adviser Bishara Bahbah and Israeli activist Gershon Baskin.

Magid also talks about another hostage deal proposed by Israel several weeks ago, which veers from the principles that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted upon for several weeks. It calls for the release of all living hostages within 48 hours of a ceasefire, the disarmament of Hamas in a second phase, and a third phase of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.

Magid, currently in Israel, discusses the Saturday night protest for the hostages in Jerusalem, based on the idea of social cohesion as Israelis show up to support the hostages' families and the strongly held value that no one should ever be left behind.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

After Trump issues ‘last warning’ to Hamas, terror group says it’s ready to restart talks

Israel submitted hostage deal offer that strays from PM’s public conditions for ending war

‘Traitor’: Mass Jerusalem crowd pans PM as hostage’s mom calls him worst foe of Jewish nation

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.

IMAGE: Anat and Haggai Angrest, parents of hostage Matan Angrest, protesting outside the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Azza Street in Jerusalem on September 6, 2025 (Credit Yael Gadot/Israeli Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Legal and settlements reporter Jeremy Sharon joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

A new study conducted by a team of Israeli multidisciplinary researchers delves into accusations that Israel committed crimes against humanity, such as planned starvation and genocide during the war in Gaza. The authors’ objective was to conduct a rigorous factual analysis of the methodologies and evidence behind genocide claims. Sharon fills us in on how faulty source data used by reports accusing Israel of genocide may be partly to blame.

Greta Thunberg has again set sail for Gaza on another so-called peace flotilla. We learn about the legalities of Israel's eventual interception and deportation of the crew.

The High Court of Justice decided unanimously last week on Monday to recommend to the government that it cancel its decision to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. The court told the government to inform it by September 14 whether it accepted the court’s recommendation to abolish the new method for firing the attorney general that the government established in June, and by extension to cancel the dismissal of Baharav-Miara. The clock is ticking. What are the next potential moves?

A kindergarten was opened in the illegal settlement outpost of Homesh on Monday, 20 years after it was evacuated under the 2005 disengagement plan, in a step that was praised by Education Minister Yoav Kisch and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as boosting Israel’s control over the West Bank. Sharon delves into what this overt government support represents.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

US said to give Hamas, via mediator, principles for comprehensive hostage deal

High Court unanimously urges government to revoke attorney general’s dismissal

New kindergarten established at West Bank outpost evacuated under 2005 disengagement

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.

IMAGE: Displaced Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza carry their belongings along the coastal road toward southern Gaza, September 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

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Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with Australians Tamar Paluch and Deborah Conway, the editor and a contributor to "Ruptured, Jewish Women in Australia Reflect on Life Post-October 7," a book of essays.

Paluch, who edited the book with Lee Kofman, discusses how the idea came from a painful place, after the events of October 7 brought a deluge of antisemitism upon Australia's Jewish community.

She talks about putting together a book written and edited by women, as it was the silence of women's organizations regarding the sexual crimes committed by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 terrorist attack that prompted her and her co-editor to launch the project.

Conway, one of the contributors and a well-known Australian musician and performing artist, speaks about the antisemitism and hatred she experienced in the wake of October 7, as many of her appearances and performances were canceled and sometimes interrupted by virulent pro-Palestinian protestors.

Both women discuss the historical background of Australian Jewry and the sense that the dream of a Jewish paradise has ended, and how they plan on moving forward.

And so this week, we ask Tamar Paluch and Deborah Conway what matters now.

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Palestinian supporters wave flags as they march to the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

This week, Berman takes up the host role for an in-depth interview with author Yaakov Katz about his new book, "While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East," which he co-wrote with Amir Bohbot.

A former military correspondent, Katz served as editor in chief of The Jerusalem Post from 2016-2023, leaving just before the war. Currently a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem, Katz is the author or co-author of four books.

Katz talks about the ignored "alarm bells" indicating that Hamas was about to launch a major attack prior to October 7, 2023. He speaks about the uncertainty whether Hamas was conducting a drill and how warning signs were disregarded because they didn't fit the paradigm built by Israel around the capabilities of Hamas.

"We were so infatuated, in love with the signal intelligence, the visual intelligence. We knew everything because we had the technology. But while we thought we knew, we did not know what their intentions were, we did not know what they were really planning," said Katz.

Katz delves into the goals of Hamas head Yahye Sinwar and how many he achieved, despite the terrorist group's degradation.

We hear an assessment of the war, almost two years in, as well as who should be running Gaza in the day after.

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Yaakov Katz (courtesy)/ Israeli soldiers walk past houses destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be'eri, Israel, October 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

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